Shivraj Singh Chouhan urges Piyush Goyal to speed up stalled hydropower project.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged power, coal and renewable energy minister Piyush Goyal to help expedite a Rs. 5,000-crore hydropower project in the state that has been in the works since the early 1990s, becoming the second high-profile leader to seek an intervention for the project after Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh.

The 400 MW project on the river Narmada, is located about 100 kilometres from Indore and could reduce the peak-power shortage in the state by over 25%. 'The MP chief minister has sought an intervention from the power minister, so that the cash-strapped run-of-the-river hydroelectricity project can be operationalised,' said a senior government official aware of the development.

The project, being developed by MW Corporation, has been ready to produce power since 2010 with most civil works complete and three out of 10 power turbines installed. Part of the erstwhile S Kumars group, MW Corporation is promoted by Mukul Kasliwal and Warij Kasliwal and is the controlling shareholder of its listed entity Entegra Limited.

ET